Chapter 186 Just Know
It was just a moment, and there was no time to think more. Xiao Chenglan stepped forward quickly and kicked Cui Yuan in the knee.
The kick was so powerful that it made him stagger and fall to his knees.
The dagger fell to the ground, making a clanging sound of cold iron.
The next moment, dozens of crossbow arrows came from the darkness from all directions, piercing directly into Cui Yuan's limbs and trapping him to the ground.
All this happened in the blink of an eye, and Jiang Zhao just reacted when the crossbow arrows pierced Cui Yuan's limbs.
He looked at the dagger that fell to the ground and the cruelty that had never appeared on Cui Yuan's face before. He felt as if his heart was pierced by an arrow, and it was cold to the bone.
His eyes were bloodshot, and he grabbed Cui Yuan's neck and pinched his chin.
"How dare you? Cui Yuan, how dare you!"
Fu Wanquan, who was standing there in a daze, finally reacted and hurried over.
"Your Majesty! There's an assassination attempt, protect your Majesty!"
Xiao Chenglan frowned, stopping his cries and kicking the dagger away. He said coldly, "He's alone, what's the point of protecting me?"
Cui Yuan lay on the ground, glanced at the corner of Xiao Chenglan's drooping sleeve, then turned his gaze to the furious and helpless Jiang Zhao.
"Thank you for your loyalty and for sacrificing your life for me. I will be your slave in my next life and repay you..."
Even though his chin was pinched and he couldn't bite the poison, Cui Yuan still spat out a mouthful of dark brown poisonous blood. It seemed that he had taken the poison long ago.
It must have been a very strong poison. After spitting out a mouthful of blood, he died without even having time to blink.
His old friend, who had been through thick and thin together, was talking and laughing one moment, and died in front of him the next. This huge ups and downs almost paralyzed Jiang Zhao's mind. He stood up angrily, took two steps back, and staggered a little.
Xiao Chenglan's eyes were filled with hostility, and he felt heavy in his heart as he looked at Cui Yuan's blood-stained face.
Since they have a life-and-death friendship, there is no reason to turn against each other for no reason, unless the knife was not originally aimed at Jiang Zhao.
Xiao Chenglan raised his wrist. The corner of his black sleeve was cut by the sharp blade, and there was a very inconspicuous wound on his little finger, without even bleeding.
It was estimated that Cui Yuan had just been kicked by him and had struggled to draw the line when he fell to his knees.
The wound was so small that he didn't feel it at all, but at this moment the skin and flesh there had already begun to burn faintly.
"Hiss..." Xiao Chenglan's steps wavered, and his temples began to throb sharply with pain.
Fu Wanquan's face immediately turned pale. "Oh no! This dagger is poisoned! Pass the order, all military doctors come to the king's tent immediately!"
Xiao Chenglan raised his hand slightly and said, "This matter must not be made public. Call Xu Jiusi over."
Fu Wanquan was panicking just now, but after being reminded by Xiao Chenglan, he finally remembered the key point.
The assassination of His Majesty is a major event both on the battlefield and in the capital, and should not be disclosed lightly.
Jiang Zhao finally pulled himself out of his turbulent mood and looked at Xiao Chenglan nervously, "Your Majesty, it was because I trusted others too easily that Your Majesty was assassinated today. I..."
"No need to say more, help me in."
Jiang Zhao suppressed the guilt that was surging in his heart and supported Xiao Chenglan as they walked into the king's tent.
Xu Jiusi arrived quickly and was shocked when he entered the tent. His Majesty was sitting in the tent, and the blood color on his lips had faded. It seemed that the poison was more severe than he thought.
"Doctor Xu, forget the formalities. Come and treat His Majesty." Fu Wanquan was extremely anxious and stepped forward to pull Xu Jiusi in front of Xiao Chenglan.
Xiao Chenglan reached out and showed Xu Jiusi the wound on his little finger that was almost healed.
Xu Jiusi found the situation increasingly difficult.
Such a small injury can quickly spread throughout the body. The toxicity of this poison is too strong.
I'm afraid that the assassin did not die from taking poison, but his fingers were contaminated by the poison when he was poisoning the dagger. The poison seeped into his skin and flesh, causing his death.
"Your Majesty, please take this pill first to protect your heart meridians. This will give me time to detoxify."
When Jiang Zhao heard the word "detoxification," hope ignited in his heart: "Doctor Xu, if you say so, does that mean this poison can be cured?"
Xu Yuanshi nodded, then shook his head slightly. "Since it's a poison, there must be an antidote. The difficulty isn't the detoxification, but whether the human body can withstand the poison until the antidote neutralizes it."
Xiao Chenglan swallowed the pill and felt his thoughts becoming increasingly heavy.
Xu Jiusi said, "Your Majesty, I will do my best to create an antidote. Tonight is the most critical time and the most difficult time. You must get through it. Even when you are most uncomfortable, don't think too much. Just get through it and everything will be fine."
"I understand." Xiao Chenglan gritted his teeth, his vision becoming blurry. "Fu Wanquan, go to the commander's camp and call Wei Xingzhong and Qi Yue."
Fu Wanquan responded repeatedly.
Xiao Chenglan shook his head, keeping a clear mind, looked at Jiang Zhao who was kneeling in the hall with red eyes, and sighed slightly.
"Alright, don't be so dejected. I'm not dead yet. Every failure is a lesson learned. Remember what happened today. From now on, don't trust anyone easily in the barracks. Deputy General Qin had a reason to beat you up. You're too young. You've been in the barracks for more than two years and you're still not even old enough."
Jiang Zhao clenched his fists, his whole body filled with guilt. He growled, "That's exactly why I trusted the wrong person. I should be the one to take the knife."
"Don't say such things. It makes your sister sad."
"But His Majesty is the most important person to my sister!"
Xiao Chenglan smiled with the corners of his mouth pulled: "It's good that you know."
Jiang Zhao was stunned, the words stuck in his throat, not knowing what to say.
He never thought that His Majesty could say such words at this time.
However, His Majesty has not shown the slightest bit of panic since he discovered that he was stabbed and poisoned.
This made him slowly calm down.
"Your Majesty, there must be something fishy about Cui Yuan's actions today. He and I have been traveling together for several days without any suspicious behavior, yet he suddenly attacked us today. So, he must have been waiting for this opportunity."
"You're right." Xiao Chenglan coughed twice. "He came for me. You're the only one who can get close to me, so he and you became close friends first."
This meant that Cui Yuan had approached him with a purpose from the very beginning. Those life-or-death situations might have been created by him.
Jiang Zhao felt his hands and feet were a little cold, but soon he discovered something was wrong.
"But how could he have been so sure that I would have the opportunity to approach Your Majesty? A year ago, I was just an insignificant pawn."
Xiao Chenglan was silent for a moment and looked at the gap in the curtain of the king's tent, where faint sunlight was filtering in.
It's really puzzling.
It seemed as if someone, in the dark, had calculated the direction of everything - Jiang Zhao would make a contribution and be transferred to the northern border, General Lu Yuan would die, and he would lead the army in person.
By twists and turns, 'it' got a chance to assassinate him in the military camp.
So, their destination is the capital.
It’s the Xue family.
Xiao Chenglan got an answer that was not surprising.
He sighed softly, his eyes becoming cold and indifferent.
It is such a pity that he has such an ability to see the overall situation and understand the big picture from the details, but he is a member of the Xue family. He cannot use his power, but instead wants to disrupt his imperial power.
Then, even if Zhuge Liang was still alive, he would have to be killed.
"Your Majesty, Marshal Wei and Deputy General Qi have arrived and are waiting for your summons."
"Let them in." Xiao Chenglan closed his heavy eyelids and forced himself to cheer up.
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